Increasingly, hospitals, physician offices and other providers are encouraged to share patient information between and among one another at a rapid-fire pace in order to provide higher quality, more coordinated care. Also, many physicians are requesting the ability to access data and communicate with nurses and care providers on smart phone devices.

While these technological advances are exciting and make caring for patients more effective and efficient, they can also leave hospitals vulnerable to data breaches. "We've seen a huge increase in hacking attempts," says Brian Doerr, senior vice president of IT for Community Hospital Corp. "Hospitals are putting in new technologies, but if they're not careful, they can open themselves up to more and more of that."